The invention relates generally to children""s wagons and, more particularly, to a children""s wagon having improved removable walls.
Children""s wagons are well-known in the art. The typical wagon includes a horizontal supporting surface or floor where a child may sit or cargo may reside, side walls extending up from the horizontal supporting surface to prevent the child or cargo from falling out of the wagon, front and back wheel assemblies for movement and some type of handle attached to the wagon body whereby a user may pull the wagon.
Wagons often include removable side walls so that the wagon may be more easily transported, in the trunk of a car, for example, or stored. In addition, wagons with removable side walls more easily accommodate oversized cargo.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,529,323 to vom Braucke et al. discloses a wagon with removable side walls. The wagon of the vom Braucke et al. ""323 patent includes a horizontal supporting surface mounted upon a frame that includes the front and rear wheel assemblies. The frame also includes a number of open-ended poles that protrude above the supporting surface. The poles accept vertical projections from the right and left side walls to secure the side walls to the wagon frame. The opposing and generally vertical edges of the front and rear walls slide into grooves formed in the right and left side walls so that the horizontal supporting surface is surrounded. Because the front and rear walls are not locked down to the frame or supporting surface, the cargo, whether it is children or some type of material, could fall out of the front or back of the wagon by knocking the side walls out of position. Moreover, a child could have difficulty assembling this wagon since it requires significant coordination to align the -front and rear walls with the left and right side walls to form the cargo area.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,669,617 to Pasin et al. describes a wagon with an improved removable wall arrangement. The wagon of the Pasin et al. ""617 patent includes a horizontal supporting surface surrounded by front and rear walls and right and left side walls. Each such wall consists of a number of horizontal rails and a pair of vertical legs. The horizontal rails and vertical legs are either held together by fasteners or are formed as a one-piece molded part with simulated fasteners. The side walls include horizontal-extending tangs formed on their ends. The tangs engage corresponding recesses formed on the ends of the front and rear walls. Each wall also includes vertical tabs which extend downward and interlock with pockets formed in the horizontal supporting surface. While the wagon of the Pasin et al. ""617 patent offers a significantly improved removable wall arrangement, room for improvement still exists in terms of ease of wall assembly and sturdiness.
Other wagon designs do little to improve upon the prior art in terms of ease of wall assembly and/or sturdiness. U.S. Pat. No. 5,360,222 to Bro et al. illustrates a toy wagon having a seat that is large enough for a child to sit upon. The wagon includes front, rear and side walls that enclose the seat. Similar to the wagon designs of the patents described above, the walls of the Bro et al. ""222 patent are removably attached to the wagon. In particular, the walls feature downward-extending tabs that are slid into corresponding receptacles formed in the body of the wagon. The side walls, however, do not attach to one another. Such an arrangement does not provide optimal structural support or stability for items and/or children positioned upon the seat.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,831 to Valiga et al. discloses a wagon with a pair of opposing and removable wall extension sections. Each single-piece section is roughly xe2x80x9cC-shapedxe2x80x9d and features a side portion and front and rear portions. The side portion extends the length of the wagon while the front and rear portions each extend halfway across the width of the wagon. Each section also includes a horizontal groove formed in its side and positioned near its bottom edge. The groove of each section accommodates a rim or lip circumferentially positioned upon the tops of the permanent walls of the wagon. Each end of each section is provided with a slot or tab that engages a tab or slot that is formed upon or in a facing end of the other section. The two wall extension sections are positioned upon the wagon so that their grooves receive the permanent wall circumferential rim and the tabs and slots of their ends engage one another. The tabs and slots of the ends of the sections secured together by screws. As such, the side extension sections of the Valiga et al. ""831 patent require tools for installation and removal to and from the wagon.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a children""s wagon with removable walls that may be securely assembled to both one another and the wagon.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a children""s wagon with removable walls that may be easily assembled to both one another and the wagon.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a children""s wagon with removable walls that may be installed or removed without the use of tools.
It is still a further object of the invention to provide a wagon with removable walls that is economical to manufacture.
It is still a further object of the invention to provide a wagon with removable walls that is durable.
Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the remaining portion of the specification.
The children""s wagon of the present invention includes a body, preferably molded of plastic, including a horizontal floor with a surrounding lip. The surrounding lip has pockets formed therein. A pair of rear wheels are attached to the body as is a pivoting bolster. A pair of front wheels and a handle are attached to the bolster.
The wagon also includes front, rear and side walls that are preferably constructed of molded plastic. Each wall includes a bottom edge with at least one tab formed thereon. Each of the tabs is sized to engage one of the pockets of the wagon body. The bottom edges of the front and rear walls each also includes at least one hook projection. The hook projections also engage corresponding pockets formed in the wagon body. As a result, the walls are removably attached to the wagon body so as to surround the horizontal floor.
The front and rear walls each include a first side edge and a second side edge while the side walls each include a leading edge and a trailing edge. Horizontal surfaces are formed on each wall and are positioned adjacent to each of the side, leading and trailing edges. Each horizontal surface has a cup and a knob formed thereon. Each side wall cup is sized. to receive one of the front or rear wall knobs and each front and rear wall cup is sized to receive one of the side wall knobs so that the side walls are connected by their leading edges to the front wall and by their trailing edges to the rear wall.